Tag: Juju Watkins

Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo named Wooden Award finalist

She had an incredible season, no?

[autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag] racked up one record and honor after another during her freshman season at Notre Dame. Now, she’s going about as far as she can go as far as awards in women’s basketball. She has been announced as one of five finalists for the Wooden Award, which is given to the best player in the country.

Even though the winner will be announced Monday, merely being a finalist means Hidalgo will be invited to the ceremony April 12 in Los Angeles regardless if she wins the award or not. She also is one of 10 Wooden Award All-Americans.

In 35 games this season, Hidalgo became one of the country’s top scorers with 33.9 points a game. She also led the country in steals at 4.6 a game, and she averaged 5.5 assists a game. All that and more made her a First Team All-American and First Team All-ACC selection as well as the top rookie and defensive player in the ACC.

Hidalgo faces some incredibly stiff competition for this award. Iowa’s Caitlin Clark is the clear favorite to win it for the second straight year, but Hidalgo also is up against 2021 winner Paige Bueckers of UConn, fellow freshman phenom JuJu Watkins of USC and Stanford’s Cameron Brink. Still, the fact that she can be in the conversation with these players is a good indicator that she’ll keep the South Bend faithful coming to Purcell Pavilion for the next few years.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Paige Bueckers classily consoling JuJu Watkins after UConn’s win is what March Madness is all about

This is truly what March Madness is all about. All class here from Paige Bueckers.

It’s the end of the road for USC freshman guard JuJu Watkins … this year.

Because we just witnessed a record-breaking, unreal season despite falling short in women’s March Madness after the loss to UConn. She had a 51-point performance this year, proving that the Caitlin Clark comparisons aren’t far off.

After USC lost in the Elite Eight matchup on Monday, her UConn counterpart Paige Bueckers came up to her and consoled the tearful Watkins, and that’s when March Madness is at its best — opponents showing love and encouragement to each other.

Here’s the moment captured by ESPN’s cameras for the world to see:

USC’s JuJu Watkins is one player Caitlin Clark would pay to watch

Caitlin Clark is a fan of JuJu Watkins. Caitlin Clark simply loves good basketball.

The Monday night pair of Elite Eight games in the Women’s NCAA Tournament is the stuff legends are made of. Iowa’s Caitlin Clark faces LSU’s Angel Reese in one regional final. Then USC and JuJu Watkins face UConn and Paige Bueckers in the second regional final. Two games, four teams, four superstars on the court. It’s a box-office doubleheader, a pair of genuine blockbuster matchups before the Final Four.

It is only fitting that before this special night, Caitlin Clark has included JuJu Watkins on her list of players she would pay to watch.

Hawkeyes Wire has more:

“At Iowa’s press conference to preview its Sweet 16 date versus Colorado, Clark was asked which fellow women’s college basketball players she would pay to go see.

“’There would be so many I would pay to go see. I would say JuJu (Watkins) right now probably. That is who I would pay and go see. But also Hannah Hidalgo at Notre Dame. I think she’s been tremendous. I think Hannah has kind of flown under the radar a little bit.'”

Iowa plays LSU at 4 p.m. Pacific time on Monday, followed by USC-UConn at 6. Both games are on ESPN. Be sure to follow Hawkeyes Wire and LSU Tigers Wire for coverage of Iowa-LSU.

Visit our friends at Fighting Irish Wire, Buffaloes Wire, and Ducks Wire. Follow our newest sites, UW Huskies Wire and UCLA Wire.

March Madness: Elite 8 strategy for the $2.5K USA TODAY’s Women’s NCAA Tournament Survivor Pool

Win $2.5K in the Women’s NCAA Tournament Survivor Pool: Elite 8 pick and prediction.

[gambcom-standard rankid=”3011″ ]

The 2024 Women’s NCAA Tournament moves on to the Elite 8, starting Sunday at 1 p.m. ET. Only 284 entries in USA TODAY’s NCAA Women’s Tournament Survivor Pool contest remain out of the 3,754 who signed up.

Sunday, we have No. 1 seed South Carolina (35-0) facing No. 3 seed Oregon State (27-7) in Albany, while No. 1 seed Texas (33-4) meets No. 3 seed NC State (30-6) in Portland.

Monday, we have a couple of amazing bouts on tap. No. 3 seed LSU (31-5) and No. 1 seed Iowa (32-4) will battle in Albany in a national championship rematch, for a trip to the Final 4 this time around. It’s F Angel Reese and the defending champion Tigers against record-setter G Caitlin Clark and her Hawkeyes in one of the most anticipated games this season.

But don’t sleep on Monday’s nightcap from Portland when G Paige Bueckers and No. 3 seed UConn face freshman phenom G Juju Watkins and top-seeded USC in the final Elite 8 game of the round.

After getting through the 1st round with 3 correct picks for 12 points, I stumbled in the 2nd round and was eliminated. While No. 4 seed Indiana won for me, I was eliminated when 4th-seeded Kansas State lost to No. 5 seed Colorado.

Even though I was done, I still offered out picks for the Sweet 16, hoping to help you. Only having to make 1 pick this round, I rebounded with LSU topping 2nd-seeded UCLA in Albany Saturday in a 78-69 thriller.

As an employee, I wasn’t eligible to win this contest, but there’s no rule against me helping you win $2.5K.

A rules reminder: Remaining entries are required to pick 1 team in Elite 8, 1 team in the Final Four and then the National Championship Game winner — if you still have an eligible team to select.

Points are earned equal to your winning teams’ seeds.

Here is my strategy of which team to pick for the Women’s NCAA Basketball Tournament Survivor Pool in the Elite 8 round.

[gambcom-standard rankid=”3012″ ]

Elite 8 pick

PICK 1: UCONN HUSKIES (32-5)

Who they play: USC Trojans (29-5)

When: Monday, 9 p.m. ET (ESPN)

Where: Moda Center, Portland

The Huskies are ranked No. 7 in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll, while the Trojans are No. 3.

USC narrowly escaped an upset in the Sweet 16, edging 5th-seeded Baylor 74-70 in a physical battle. The good news is that the Trojans held the Bears to 38.6% (27-of-70) shooting from the field, but that bad news is that USC wasn’t much better at 39.4% (29-of-66) on its field-goal percentage. USC turned it over 9 times, too, while managing just 11 assists and 2 steals, to 17 dimes and 5 steals for Baylor. Still, the Trojans managed to get the job done.

Watkins misfired on 20 of her 28 field-goal attempts, including a dismal 2-of-11 from behind the 3-point line. Still, she managed to get to the free-throw line 13 times, knocking down 12 of her attempts. It was one of the strangest 30-point night you’ll ever see. She finished with 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 blocked shots, too.

USC will have its hands full with Bueckers. The Huskies eased by 7th-seeded Duke 53-45 in a defensive battle. Bueckers was 9-of-21 from the field, posting 24 points with 5 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 blocked shots and an assist, while knocking down a pair of 3-pointers. F Aaliyah Edwards was tremendously efficient, too, hitting 6-of-7 from the field, ending up with 12 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks in a complementary role.

Coach Geno Auriemma is one of the game’s greats, and Bueckers and Edwards are outstanding options to confuse Watkins, who is on this stage for the first time. All 4 of the games in the Elite 8 are No. 3 vs. No. 1 seeds. The Huskies are your best bet to pull the upset, with NC State a close 2nd if you’ve yet to use them (I have).

Stream select live college basketball games and full replays: Get ESPN+

[gambcom-standard rankid=”5″ ]

For more sports betting picks and tips, check out SportsbookWire.com and BetFTW.

Follow Kevin J. Erickson on Twitter. Follow SportsbookWire on Twitter and like us on Facebook.

College sports coverage from USA TODAY Sports Media Group:
Alabama / Arkansas / Auburn / Clemson / Colorado / Florida / Georgia / Iowa / LSU / Michigan / Michigan State / Nebraska / North Carolina / Notre Dame / Ohio State / Oklahoma / Oregon / Penn State / Rutgers / Tennessee / Texas / Texas A&M / USC / Wisconsin /
College Sports Wire: Men’s hoops / Women’s hoops / High School

[lawrence-newsletter]

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1667]

JuJu Watkins and Cheryl Miller discuss USC’s run to No. 1 seed for NCAA Tournament, and more

Cheryl Miller and JuJu Watkins had a conversation. You’ll want to watch it.

Cheryl Miller’s place as a basketball icon is enormous and secure. JuJu Watkins is just beginning to collect awards and pursue championships at USC. An established USC great and a rising USC star have a lot to talk about, and one of the great things about this USC women’s basketball season is how it has brought the legend and the current Trojan star together.

Cheryl Miller’s imprint on USC and Los Angeles sports is massive. As we noted, “After facing Kim Mulkey in a contentious Final Four semifinal on March 30, 1984, Cheryl Miller became a teammate of Mulkey on the 1984 United States Women’s Basketball National Team. Miller, Mulkey, and other women’s basketball stars of the era led the USA to the gold medal at the Los Angeles Olympics. Miller therefore won a national title and Olympic gold in Los Angeles in 1984, a very special year for a USC basketball icon.”

Cheryl Miller and JuJu Watkins talked ball, USC, and more in a conversation you won’t want to miss. Here it is:

Visit our friends at Fighting Irish Wire, Buffaloes Wire, and Ducks Wire. Follow our newest sites, UW Huskies Wire and UCLA Wire.

JuJu Watkins breaks Cheryl Miller’s all-time single-season USC scoring record

JuJu Watkins and Cheryl Miller are linked forever in USC women’s basketball history.

JuJu Watkins has racked up a lot of awards this season. She is a First-Team All-American. She is the 2024 NCAA Women’s Basketball Freshman of the Year. She has made history on a lot of levels at USC. Now comes one of the crown-jewel achievements of her resplendent 2024 season: She is now the all-time single-season scoring leader for USC women’s basketball. Cheryl Miller had the record at 814 points. JuJu broke it early on Saturday in the Trojans’ NCAA Tournament opener against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.

Watkins will now try to win honors connected to team success. USC, powered by Watkins, led A&M-CC by a 36-20 score at halftime. The Trojans are trying to earn their way into the second round on Monday evening in the Galen Center against the Kansas Jayhawks, who defeated the Michigan Wolverines in overtime in the day’s first of two games in Galen.

JuJu Watkins broke a Cheryl Miller record set in 1986, the last time the Trojans were a No. 1 seed in the Women’s NCAA Tournament before this year. The year 1986 is also the last time the Trojans made the Women’s Final Four and reached the national championship game. Those are the goals JuJu Watkins wants to reach more than anything else.

Visit our friends at Fighting Irish Wire, Buffaloes Wire, and Ducks Wire. Follow our newest sites, UW Huskies Wire and UCLA Wire.

Vanessa Bryant and family were among those out to support USC women’s basketball in March Madness

The Bryants were out to support JuJu Watkins and USC women’s basketball on Saturday.

During the USC women’s basketball team’s opening-round NCAA tournament game against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, sensational Trojans guard JuJu Watkins and her teammates had quite the cheering section.

Vanessa Bryant, wife of the late Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant, attended Saturday’s game with her family to root for Watkins and the Trojans, an awesome gesture that shows the connection between the L.A.-based school and the Bryants.

In the past, Watkins has talked about the late Kobe and Gianna Bryant’s influence on her USC playing days and the way she approaches basketball. So it’s great to see the Bryant family supporting her and her team in one of the big games of their careers.

USC quarterback Caleb Williams, the likely top pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, and women’s basketball legend Cheryl Miller were also in attendance for the day’s game.

This is just a really cool thing to see, as it’s clear the love in basketball family in Los Angeles can spread levels of play and different programs.

We’re sure that Watkins and USC deeply appreciate the support from the Bryants as they try to bring a national title back to the City of Angels.

Featured image courtesy of ESPN.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 tag=78332]

The most important number for USC women’s basketball in NCAA Tournament first-round game

Beyond winning the game, USC needs to achieve one other specific goal in its NCAA Tournament opener on Saturday.

The USC women’s basketball team begins the Women’s NCAA Tournament this Saturday afternoon on its home floor in the Galen Center, the first time the Trojans will host an NCAA Tournament game in Galen since the building opened nearly 20 years ago. It’s a special time for USC, coach Lindsay Gottlieb, superstar JuJu Watkins, and the rest of an overachieving team which won the Pac-12 Tournament and gained a No. 1 seed.

As USC prepares for its first-round game versus the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders, the Trojans aren’t expected to be tested in this contest. It’s a 1 seed versus a 16 seed, after all. What should USC realistically try to get out of this game beyond a win? There’s one really big key, and there’s one number you should have in mind when thinking about that key point.

USC, if it wins on Saturday, would have to turn around on Monday and play another game against Michigan or Kansas. If you watched JuJu Watkins during the season, you know that in the games where she has more rest, she plays and shoots better. She always delivers on defense, but her better offensive games during the season usually came on Fridays and not Sundays. Her 51-point game against Stanford: Friday. Her excellent game versus Colorado: Friday. Her 8 of 27 shooting performance in the loss to Washington? Sunday. Her 6 of 32 shooting line at Oregon State? Sunday.

USC needs JuJu Watkins to be fresh for Monday. That means putting this game away at halftime or early in the third quarter, so that JuJu can get added rest for the Monday game.

The important number: 25. If JuJu Watkins doesn’t have to play more than 25 minutes, that would be a great result for USC. Watkins averages 34.3 minutes per game. Yes, she has had a long time to rest, but she needs her best game in the second round. She shouldn’t have to be at her very best against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. If JuJu can at least play fewer than 30 minutes, that would be good, but hitting 25 minutes — maybe 27 tops — would be especially encouraging for this team as it tries to handle the strain of playing two NCAA Tournament games in three days.

USC plays A&M-CC at 1:30 p.m. in Los Angeles on Saturday, with ESPN showing the game nationwide.

Visit our friends at Fighting Irish Wire, Buffaloes Wire, and Ducks Wire. Follow our newest sites, UW Huskies Wire and UCLA Wire.

Cheryl Miller warns JuJu Watkins to remember 1 thing as her fame and trajectory with USC grows

Cheryl Miller has a passionate warning for JuJu Watkins as her young, blossoming career progresses.

JuJu Watkins is an incredible talent whose prowess has propelled the USC Trojans women’s basketball team back into top basketball conversations. However, earning that amount of superstardom comes with a mountain of attention and fame that USC legend Cheryl Miller wants JuJu to know should never compromise her ability to maintain a sense of self.

IT’S BRACKET MADNESS: Enter USA TODAY’s NCAA tournament bracket contest for a chance at $1 million prize.

JuJu Watkins is a hooper. She’s gritty. She’s tough. She’s dynamic on the floor. However, as she’s been seemingly breaking every USC women’s basketball record and scoring the most points by a freshman in NCAA history — surpassing Caitlin Clark — it can be hard to remember that Warkins is just 18 years old.

That’s why Hall of Famer Cheryl Miller recently asked JuJu if she has taken quiet time for herself. When she struggled to answer, Miller offered some advice.

Per Sean Hurd of ESPN, this is what Miller shared with JuJu:

“I want you to find that quiet space where no one else [is], where it’s your time to exhale…I’m not worried about the physical. You’re a young kid, and you’re going to continue to grow into your body. But it’s the mental fatigue that I worry from you. It’s not a basketball…It’s the business aspect. That’s what I need from you, to find that quiet space.”

SURVIVOR POOL: Free to enter. $2,500 to win. Can you survive the madness?

USC’s JuJu Watkins does something which hadn’t happened in 28 years

JuJu Watkins is USC WBB’s first player to become a First-Team All-American since the great Tina Thompson in 1996.

The USC women’s basketball team has authored a very special season in 2024. The Trojans, as a group, have done something no USC women’s basketball team has achieved in 38 years: Get a No. 1 seed at the NCAA Tournament. USC has won the Pac-12 Tournament for the first time since 2014. The Trojans, who have played in the Galen Center for nearly 20 years, will finally host NCAA Tournament games in their on-campus arena for the very first time. This is a season full of milestones and landmark moments for USC women’s basketball. You can add one more achievement to the list: JuJu Watkins was named a First-Team All-American in 2024, marking the first time in 28 years anyone at the program has done so. You would have to go back to Tina Thompson in 1996 to identify USC’s previous First-Team All-American.

JuJu Watkins probably would have made the All-America Team solely on the basis of her scoring prowess. She has spent almost all of the season second on the average points-per-game scoring list behind Iowa superstar Caitlin Clark. Watkins likely would have been a Second-Team All-America selection solely for her offensive ability.

What makes JuJu Watkins a first-teamer, not a second-teamer, on the All-America roster is her defense. Watkins is an elite on-ball defender who regularly gets multiple steals per game. She is a capable shot blocker as well and has great instincts as a help defender for USC. JuJu Watkins’ quality at both ends of the floor, not just offense, is what makes her a legitimate first-team selection. Now we will see how far this First-Team All-American can carry the Trojans in the Women’s NCAA Tournament.

Visit our friends at Fighting Irish Wire, Buffaloes Wire, and Ducks Wire. Follow our newest sites, UW Huskies Wire and UCLA Wire.